Drawing on both Chassidic stories and historical events, Rabbi Wein analyzes the revolutionary impact of the Baal Shem Tov on Eastern European Jewry. His emphasis on serving God with joy revitalized Judaism for the simple Jew. It took 70 years for Chassidus to be accepted as mainstream, but in its beginnings, the leading rabbis of Vilna opposed it vehemently, suspicious of what seemed a dangerous fringe movement.